Solar panel firm calls for future policy certainty
Solar panel firm calls for future policy certainty
Richard Moss - North East and Cumbria political editorSun, July 12, 2026 at 6:13 AM UTC
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Power Roll in County Durham is using pioneering technology to make solar panels
A solar panel company which is planning to create hundreds of jobs is calling for certainty from politicians to aid its expansion.
Power Roll currently employs around 35 people at its test plant in Murton, County Durham, where it is developing pioneering new technology using cells smaller than human hairs.
But the firm said it needed clarity on government green policies as it was making plans for up to 20 years ahead.
Labour MP Luke Myer told Politics North "clean power" was "an opportunity for our region... it's also an opportunity to make sure we have energy security as well".
Power Roll chief executive Neil Spann said the flexible film they were developing was "first of a kind" and not being done "anywhere else in the world".
The film is packed with thousands of tiny solar cells which the firm said would provide a cheaper and more flexible way of putting energy-generating panels on buildings and cut energy bills.
Neil Spann said his firm needed certainty on policies to aid its expansion
"We're the only company using solar cells smaller than a human hair to generate solar energy," Spann said.
"It's truly groundbreaking and we are working with partners in the UK and internationally to scale this up and bring it to market."
The company has attracted employees from all over the world, but also local staff such as Jack Mason-Young, 21, from nearby Shotton Colliery.
He joined as an apprentice at 18 and said it was good he could find work in the solar sector and stay close to home.
The company has plans to build a full factory which it says could employ up to 500 people in one of the most deprived parts of the region.
The existing premises are on a site that was once used by the coal industry, but now Power Roll hopes to play its part in helping the UK meet the government's commitment to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
But Spann said any uncertainty over that target could make it harder to realise the investment and risk driving jobs overseas.
Jack Mason-Young said he was pleased to find work in the solar sector so close to home
The company's future expansion will rely on decisions by politicians now and in the future, including a new prime minister, he said.
"It's absolutely critical that we can have a clear direction of travel irrespective of what government happens to be in place," he said.
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"When you are building a factory you are looking over a 10, 15 or even 20-year time schedule not one or two years."
Power Roll is not the only company looking anxiously at what a change in Downing Street might mean.
'Silly to row back'
A recent report by the CBI and the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) estimated more than 35,000 people in the North East were now employed in the net zero sector and it generated £2.7bn per year for the economy.
But Jess Rawlston, the ECIU's head of energy, said the sector would continue to rely on government commitment to reach net zero.
She said: "We do not know what the new prime minister will want to do about net zero.
"But any sort of scaling back doesn't just jeopardise investment, it also risks energy security and jobs.
"With the economic contribution it makes, it would be rather silly to row back on it now."
Power Roll currently has a test factory but is hoping to build a full production facility
Other parts of the energy sector here though are seeing the change in Downing Street as an opportunity.
The UK oil and gas industry has been declining as North Sea reserves diminish and politicians look to switch away from fossil fuels.
But the industry will be pressing the prime minister to look again at opening new production, and it believes that could benefit the North East.
David Whitehouse, from Offshore Energies UK, said British oil and gas would be a better choice than using imported fuel while the country makes the transition to net zero.
He said: "There are more than 5,000 people from the North East directly in the oil and gas sector on offshore platforms, and there are more in the supply chain in the region.
"I think it is time for an approach that makes the most of all our energy, and all of our skills.
"That is the way we tackle climate change, grow our economy, put value into our regions and drive reindustrialisation."
Myer said: "One of the biggest issues we encounter is energy bills, people regularly feel the pinch in their pockets - the challenge we have in this country is that we are dangerously exposed to international oil and gas markets and so we do need more independence, which means investing in green power."
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Source: “AOL Money”
